The present invention relates to a safety razor system and more particularly to a shaving system wherein a replaceable cartridge is provided for connecting a housing containing a plurality of razor blades onto a razor handle by employment of a pivotal connection.
Shaving systems are known wherein a replaceable cartridge contains a housing having a plurality of blades contained therein, the blades being resiliently mounted relative to the housing so as to deflect in response to the contours of the skin during the shaving process. It is also known to pivotably mount the blade-carrying housing to a razor handle by employing a connector member to produce a replaceable cartridge wherein the connector member contains structure for receiving a disconnectable handle in interconnecting engagement. The design and implementation of a structure employing the above features is shown and described in copending PCT Patent Application WO97/37819 (corresponds to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,787,586; 5,813,293; 5,822,869; 5,855,071; and 5,918,369) and in copending U.S. Ser. No. 08/802,381, (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,851), each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference.
Razor systems have also been proposed, particularly for use by women, wherein the generally accepted rectangular shape of the razor-carrying housing has been abandoned and replaced by a substantially oval-shaped configuration which is more easily adapted to use in shaving the legs or underarm of the user. In addition, it has been proposed that the plurality of parallel blades disposed in the elongated housing housing member be provided with skin-contacting surfaces at either side thereof which are manufactured of a resilient material having upwardly projecting cup surfaces which serve to stretch the skin during the shaving process and capture a lubricous shaving preparation applied to the skin. The above features are shown and described in PCT Patent Application WO97/17174 assigned to the assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference.
The above-enumerated features all are effective to produce a shaving system which is greatly improved over those of the prior art, when employed under normal conditions. However, it has been found that, in many instances, the razor system may be subjected to abnormal abuse, such as repetitive dropping on tile flooring in the shower, or, in some instances, during carrying of the razor system during travel. Under these conditions, the cutting edge of the razor blades may become slightly misaligned, one with the other, or with the guard bar provided forward of the blade edges, or when employing a pivotal interconnect member as referenced above, the interconnect member and the housing containing the blades may become misaligned. Each of these conditions could affect the ease and comfort of the shaving process that the user would expect from the safety razor system.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a shaving system comprising a blade-carrying housing having a guard member parallel with an adjacent blade edge, wherein the designed location of the blade edge relative to a surface of the guard member is maintained during a useful lifetime of the shaving system.
A further object of the invention is to provide a shaving system of the type described wherein retention and location of the various elements of the system is ensured during usage of the system.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a shaving system having a plurality of parallel blades which are spring-biased which provides improved control over the limitation of blade movement in the biased direction during employment of the system.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a shaving system having a unitary member which is effective to retain a plurality of blades in the system and maintain the blade edges in alignment, one with the other, and with a guard surface disposed parallel to the blades.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a safety razor system having a blade-carrying housing member and an interconnect member for pivotably attaching the housing to a razor handle wherein the interconnect member is simple in construction and provides ease of attachment to the blade-carrying housing.